Navigate:

President Obama under pressure to deliver on climate

The president's challenge is to tackle climate change without appearing to hinder job growth. |
AP Photo
Close

But how exactly will they have to do that? It depends.

In some states, where they aren’t immediately able to regulate greenhouse gases under their own permitting programs, EPA plans to step in until they can revise their state laws or regulations. The agency is also planning to take over greenhouse gas permitting indefinitely in Texas, where state officials have staunchly refused to get in line with the Obama administration’s climate policy.

Text Size

-

+

reset

Regulators will determine on a case-by-case basis exactly how to enforce emission reductions under the new rules. EPA issued a guidance document in November pushing efficiency as the best way to curb emissions, but the requirements will vary depending on the individual plants.

That leaves a lot of uncertainty, said Jeff Holmstead, an industry attorney who served as EPA air chief during the George W. Bush administration. EPA’s guidance “doesn’t really clarify things very much” for industry, he said. “It’s much more about process than it is about standards.”

Industry officials have warned that long delays could occur as authorities work to issue greenhouse gas permits for the first time and as opponents of new projects challenge the emission control requirements in court.

“It’s a mess. It’s great for lawyers, but it’s bad for anybody who wants to build anything," Holmstead said, adding he'd be surprised if many major greenhouse gas permits are issued next year.

Ben Grumbles, who served as Arizona’s top environmental chief until December, said he doesn’t envision immediate permitting problems in Arizona but said there’s a great deal of uncertainty about what will happen down the road as the debate plays out in Congress and the legal battle over the rules continue.

“We don’t envision a big train wreck after Jan. 2 on the question of permitting and the mechanics of getting coverage under the Clean Air Act,” said Grumbles, who also served as a top EPA official in the George W. Bush administration. “We do anticipate that in 2011, there’s going to be significant debate and discussion over those greenhouse gas emission regulations.”

To be sure, some states say they’re expecting no trouble at all. “We’re equipped, we’re staffed, we’re ready,” said Stuart Clark, air quality program manager at the Washington State Department of Ecology.

Several state air regulators told POLITICO they expect that implementing the new climate rules will be much like the other clean air programs they’ve implemented in the past.

“There are no new problems being created by the addition of greenhouse gas emissions,” the EPA official said. “It’s going to be still the same permitting program with still the same structures and still the same setup.”

Joe Mendelson, director of global warming policy at the National Wildlife Federation, said the buildup to the climate regulations is reminiscent of the uproar leading up to Y2K. “This is a lot of ballyhoo about something that’s not going to be very disruptive,” he said.

"Regulators will determine on a case by case basis exactly how to enforce emmission reductions under the new rules.Nice uniform enforcement. I predict some well off regulators. What a bunch of amateurs. Gee, don't you hope your state gets the guy who can be bought with a few rounds of golf.

With all of the politicized zealotry surrounding the climate change debate, does anyone expect wise regulation from an administration stuffed to the gills with smarter and more virtuous than thou academics and ideologues, many of whom have largely evaded public scrutiny with recess appointments and the like.

These aren't people who will let little things like elections get in their way.

The auto industry fought tooth and nail against similar regulations saying it would be bad for business in the 60's, and the 70's,and the 80's, and the 90's..... all while every single year Japanese imports gained a stronger foothold in the American marketplace with clean burning economical engines in their cars! What is wrong with people in this country? Why do we have to fight against innovation every single time it presents itself?

Funny you should mention academics. Yesterday I was once again treated to a parade of Obama administration lackeys telling me how Obama is the most intelligent President in history and how he has surrounded himself with the brightest minds in the country. When will the American public be able to actually witness some of this boundless intelligence?

The auto industry fought tooth and nail against similar regulations saying it would be bad for business in the 60's, and the 70's,and the 80's, and the 90's..... all while every single year Japanese imports gained a stronger foothold in the American marketplace with clean burning economical engines in their cars! What is wrong with people in this country? Why do we have to fight against innovation every single time it presents itself?

The Japanese took over the auto industry because because they built quality vehicles in an era when the U.S. auto makers let quality comtrol go out the window. Foriegn companies were offering 50,000 or 100,000 mile warrantees while the U.S. was still offering 10,000 miles.

Yes, we all hate clean air and water, also flouride is a communist plot to enslave us. How dare the EPA try and enforce something passed under the Bush administration under Obama's watch, that just proves that Obama is trying to "kill jobs" and "shove things down our throats". Maybe I will show my displeasure by wearing a tea bag laden, tricorner hat and carrying a sign of dubious spelling and confusing grammar.

"they say they’re legally bound to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act after the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Massachusetts v. EPA that ordered EPA to determine whether the heat-trapping gases endanger public health and welfare."

Where does one access the EPA's findings that prove the current levels endanger public health and welfare? Also the report that shows how much my welfare will be improved under the new regulations?

As I read it, my energy bill will go up which means my welfare will go down.

I used to live in So Cal when we had horrible pollution, smog alerts and all that so I'm not against making sure that companies can't just spew crap into the air. But under the current regulations the air is getting better (although part of that is probably because manufacturing is going offshore) so where is the cost/benefit analysis?

Workingman47 makes a great point as do others who cite the real benefits of improving our environment and safety. The costs of toxicity, unnecessary injury, and mitigation far outweigh the costs of innovation. Plus, efficiency is low-hanging fruit, yielding a better bottom line in very short order. Buildings produce a third of our greenhouse gas emissions. Cutting electrical and heating fuel costs with off-the-shelf fixes like insulation, caulking, and better ducting is relatively cheap and will accommodate enormous compliance. New, innovative vehicles are starting to hit the road and, again, yield exponential benefits as electric cars are many times more efficient than internal combustion cars. All this snark about regulation -- but thanks to regulation, I grew up in an era with cleaner air, better teeth, less disease, and fewer deaths due to car crashes and cigarettes. Congress had a chance to shape this; they failed. Now it's up to the EPA.

Ah yes, I remember The Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act and how they basically ruined America with tremendously expensive regulations that proved to have no benefits. Wait....that didn't actually happen.

Obamaism is the new environmental Stalinism with Lisa Jackson, Carol Browner and Tom Villsack acting as Bolshevik, environmental stooges of the state. Of course one would only expect this from the most inexperienced, economically illiterate president in American history. Add Obama's megalomania, narcissism, god complex and his hatred of the middle class and we have the Old Joe of the 21st Century. Of course, this Green fanaticism is going to cause further economic decline and devision of the once, great nation, and the Democrats are going to be stunned, to face even bigger losses in 2012. News to Democratic Party candidates, Obama cares about you, only as much as you show your craven acquiescence to Obama. Prostrate your soulless carcasses before, "The One" you've been waiting for. Of course it won't do any good, anymore than it did Old Joe's Bolsheviks that went to before the firing squad, of course. Because now the Democratic Party, is the party of environmental Stalinism.